This week, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court has reversed a previous decision that struck down the New York Voting Rights Act of 2022. Also referred to as the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, this law sets guidelines to protect against voter intimidation and makes it easier to claim voter suppression or dilution without going to court.
The original case brought by Abrams Fensterman in 2023, presented the first formal claim under New York’s John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, in which five Hispanic Mount Pleasant residents claimed that Hispanic residents are being disenfranchised because the town of Mount Pleasant’s method of voting for at-large Town Board seats has denied them representation on the council.
Additionally, this specific ruling is in response to the lawsuit brought by six Black and Hispanic voters against the Town of Newburgh in the Hudson Valley. The suit, which was filed in March, was one of at least four lawsuits filed under New York’s Voting Rights Act. Mount Pleasant was one of these lawsuits. The lawsuit argued that “at-large” elections to pick town board members in the majority-white town had kept Black and Hispanic residents from electing their candidates of choice, diluting their vote.
Abrams Fensterman Partner, David Imamura, who led the case, was quoted by the Associated Press:
“We are pleased, though not surprised, that the Appellate panel upheld the constitutionality of the New York State John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and allowed the Newburgh residents who have been shut out of their city’s at-large electoral system to seek a fair shot at choosing candidates to represent them.”
This appellate ruling is pivotal not only for its immediate impact but also for its potential to influence other similar voting rights cases in the future, shaping how electoral systems are structured to ensure fair and equal representation for all citizens.
The case has recieved significant media coverage from news outlets including the New York Times, Bloomberg Law, U.S News & World Report, The Free Press and more.
David Imamura is a Partner at Abrams Fensterman, LLP, and a member of the Political & Election Law, Civil Litigation and White-Collar Criminal Defense practice groups working out of the firm’s White Plains office.
